The Prey of the Facestealer
by Summer Sweetheart
Summary: This was written many months ago... Basically Katara somehow gets into the Spirit World and meets Koh. Entirely unrealistic, so just bear with me! -Kataang- No flames!
1. Chapter 1

Hi! I wrote this story back in May/June, so it was long before season three came out, so that's why I'm basically describing everything in the beginning, and it's a little different than what's going on in season three now. I just didn't feel like going through the whole thing and making it exactly how the show has it, so just bear with me!

One more thing before you start reading, in this story, there are tons of things that happen which would never happen in the show. I'm well aware of that. I just made certain things possible for the sake of the story… and frankly, I don't care! XD

Finally, I'd like to thank daydream11, my beta for reading over this as well as my other story I'm working on now. ;)

* * *

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Avatar, Katara and Aang would already be together… 

It was a typical, boiling hot day in the Fire Nation. Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph were in their temporary home waiting for the eclipse so that the army, who had gone into hiding a few miles outside the Fire Nation, could infiltrate the city. They had been there only a week, and already they were bored out of their minds. To keep from being noticed, the four had been given new looks, including new clothes, hairstyles and identities; they allowed themselves out of the house only to get the basic necessities or in case of an emergency, so the foursome pretty much stayed indoors day after day... not that it bothered them or anything. Oh, _no_. The sweltering weather wasn't doing much good for their little family, so they were perfectly content with staying in their nice, cool home.

Their home was in a small, shabby part of the town where most of the people of the lower classes lived. Though they were far from the palace, the Earth Kingdom spies, who had been living in the city for the past few months, told the four that it would be best that they stay low, and away from the nobles... at least for now.

Their small home had two bedrooms, one bathroom, a teeny-tiny kitchen, and a decently sized living room. It was fairly comfortable, though there were often fights (usually between Katara and Sokka) for the bathroom.

One afternoon, Aang was found sitting on the back of a small, ancient looking chair that was situated beneath a window. He was staring sadly outside, his mind racing with thoughts of the coming battle. After about ten minutes or so, he heard a soft voice behind him say his name.

"Aang…?"

Aang turned around to see Katara, who had come to her friend's side. "Hey Katara," he whispered, his mouth set into a frown.

Katara frowned herself. Aang just hadn't been his usual happy-go-lucky self since they've arrived. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Mm-hmm," he nodded, blatantly lying, as Katara sat down on one of the arms of the chair.

"It's just that... I'm worried about you." Aang turned his gaze away from his friend and stared back out the window.

Katara nodded her head understandingly. What with the final battle getting ever so closer, Aang having to leave Appa at the Western Air Temple for now, and him still looking for a Firebending teacher, who wouldn't be worried?

"Aang," Katara said very quietly. "It's going to be okay. You've pretty much mastered Earth, Water, and Airbending, and we'll find a Firebender teacher for you and you'll master that in no time! Plus, you've got friends who believe in you, and hundreds, no, _thousands_ of people who believe in you too." She smiled reassuringly.

"Thanks Katara," he whispered.

* * *

The next few days went with no activity whatsoever and the days' routines were usually monotonous. 

Aang would either close himself in his room for hours on end to meditate, or else he would practice his bending with Katara in the creek which was not too far behind their house, or maybe with Toph out of view in a wooded area, reducing the risk of being seen; Sokka would sometimes join the benders, mainly to watch or brandish his weapons at imaginary foes, or he would sometimes talk with Katara, Toph, and/or Aang, when they weren't bending, about certain battle strategies.

When Aang wasn't meditating or sleeping, Katara rarely left his side. She was Aang's source of comfort, completely. Once a week, she, along with whoever else wanted to go, would go to the market to get food and other necessities. Katara was like the mother of the house, as if the position had switched from the back of an oversized bison to a stable, shabby home. When Toph wasn't bending with Aang, she usually spent her days with Sokka (chatting, eating, and fighting... the usual stuff) or she may go with Katara on those rare days when they had shopping to do.

On this particular day, Aang had gone off in his bedroom and shut the door to meditate, Sokka had fallen asleep on one of the shabby couches, Toph was petting Momo, who lay in her lap, and Katara was clearing off the table of their lunch they had finished not too long before.

After washing the plates and putting them back into the cupboard, Katara sighed. She looked over at Sokka, still sound asleep with his mouth wide open and snoring loudly, and then Toph with Momo, who was starting to doze in her lap while the Earthbender gently stroked his fur. Katara looked around the small house to see what needed to be done. The house was already as close to spotless as it could possibly get, everyone was fed, they had more than enough food and supplies...

'_Maybe I'll just see how Aang's doing,' _she thought. Katara was too bored and desperate to find something to do that she had momentarily forgotten that Aang had asked not to be disturbed.

Over in Aang's room, things weren't as dull as things had been lately. Aang had just succeeded in entering the Spirit World; he was looking for Avatar Roku. He had to ask him about his potential Firebending teacher. Aang had no idea who could train him, and he didn't even know where he should start looking. As he walked along, Aang thought he heard a noise from what seemed like far away. It sounded like a door opening and closing.

_'Strange,' _he thought. _'What was that sound'_ He turned in the direction of the noise and he felt a sensation like someone was squeezing his heart. What on earth was Katara doing _here_ in the Spirit World?

* * *

Katara looked around her. This was _definitely_ not Aang and Sokka's room... it looked as though she was in some sort of swamp. Then it hit her: this was exactly how Aang described the Spirit World! Katara saw spirits of some strange creatures running or flying around, others were climbing up one of the many thick trees; she saw a spirit of a wise old man who took no notice of her, but just kept walking along. Not knowing what to do, Katara just stood there, rooted to the spot. Then she heard a voice calling to her. 

"Katara…?"

Katara looked over to her right, and there was Aang, running as fast as he could towards her. "Aang," she said with a sigh of relief. Aang could help her get back to the Physical World.

Aang looked back at her with an almost disbelieving look on his face. "What are you doing here," he asked in a voice that hinted panic, "and how'd you get here?"

"I dunno," Katara answered truthfully. "I just came into the room to see how you were doing, and... I... I just ended up here for some reason..." She finished, looking around, still in awe about the new world she had just entered.

Aang put a hand to his forehead, thinking quickly. "Okay... we _have_ to find a way to get you out of here. The Spirit World is very dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt..." Aang looked around. There was no sign of an entrance or an exit to get Katara back. He cursed inaudibly before grabbing Katara's hand and started walking.

"Where are we going?" Katara asked him.

"We're gonna find Hei-Bai," Aang replied. "He helped me get out of here a while ago; maybe he'll help you too... just stay close to me."

Katara nodded, and then ran to Aang's side. They walked for a little while, Aang showing Katara some of the strange sites and some of the strange spirits, as they searched for the panda-like spirit.

About ten minutes later, without having any luck, Katara started complaining about being tired, so they rested against a large tree with a cave just a few yards away. As they sat, Aang thought of how to find Hei-Bai. Calling for him was too much of a risk. He didn't want to attract attention to him, especially not when Katara was with him. As many friends as he had in the Spirit World, there was always an enemy. Koh, for example, longed to steal Aang's face. All because a past reincarnation had tried to kill him hundreds of years ago when he stole the face of a loved one...

Aang dozed off, dreaming of himself as Avatar Kuruk. He was in the Spirit World, searching for Koh's lair, angry beyond all things. The old spirit had stolen his beautiful Ummi, his fiancée. As he finally walked up to his foe, wielding his weapon, Koh had turned to him, looking right at him. The face he was now wearing wasn't his usual white face with bright red lips, or Ummi's. The face was that of another young Water Tribe woman, who looked to be around the age of 14... Aang screamed himself awake as he jumped to his feet. He gave a sigh of relief as he realized that it was just a dream. Still, with a stab of panic, he noticed the cave he and Katara had decided to rest by. It was Koh's cave.

"Katara," Aang cried, "we have to get away from here now!" He turned to his friend, only to see that she was missing. "Katara…?" He frantically searched the area. "Katara," Aang called out again. There was no answer. Walking up to the entrance of the cave, he could sense that Katara was in there. (Call it an Avatar thing, but Aang had a _sick_ feeling in his stomach…) Katara didn't know about Koh. She was in trouble!

* * *

Okay. Yeah. I know that if Katara walked in on Aang in the Spirit World, she'd just see him sitting there with his tattoos glowing and stuff. Like I said, I know all this is impossible (in the Avatar world). Just pretend all this can happen. kay? ;) The next part will be up in a sec! 


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second part. The next few paragraphs were originally one big paragraph, but I split it up to make it easier for you all to read. Just letting you know!

* * *

A few minutes previously, Katara watched as Aang slept. He looked like he was having a nightmare. She gazed down at him, looking slightly concerned. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar figure in the distance.

Katara gasped. "M-mom…?" She whispered. The figure turned in Katara's direction, not looking at her daughter, "Mom!" Katara yelled a little more loudly. But the figure took no notice of the Waterbender, but continued to walk swiftly ahead. Katara watched her deceased mother quickly make her way towards her. Katara smiled. How she longed to be in her mother's arms. Suddenly, the figure stopped at the mouth of the cave, turned, and walked right inside.

"Mom, where are you going?" Katara stood up to follow the figure of her long lost mother. She hesitated at the cave entrance and bravely walked inside. It was very dark, and very scary. Katara nervously glanced around looking for the figure, but it seemed to have vanished. The young Waterbender cautiously stepped deeper into the darkness, her head moving from left to right, taking in the surroundings. After a minute or two of wandering, she felt, rather than heard, a movement. She didn't know what it was, but she could tell that it was something big. Turning around ever so slowly towards the noise, she called out to whatever was around.

"H-hello…?" Her voice shook with fear. "Mom…?" A soft voice answered her, but to Katara's horror, it was definitely not her mother.

"Ah. It's been so long since I've added a young face to my collection." Koh's centipede-like body appeared right in front of Katara, who was frozen out of fear. "And another loved one of the Avatar's. This really is a shame, but I'm so glad I used a hallucination of your mother to lure you in here. You have such a pretty face, and soon, it will be mine." Katara screamed as loud as she could, then all went black.

* * *

"Katara," Aang called out quietly to his friend at the cave entrance. Worried beyond all belief, he stepped inside Koh's cave. "Katara…?" Still, there was no answer. He began to panic and he cried out "KATARA! PLEASE! ANSWER ME!" He walked even deeper into the darkness, moving his head from side to side, hoping to catch a glimpse of his friend. After a few minutes, which felt like hours, he finally saw a small figure slumped against one of the dripping cave walls. "Katara…?" Aang asked cautiously. "Katara, is that you?" Ever so slowly, he walked up to the dark shadow on the ground and kneeled before it. Katara was laying on the cave floor, her back to him. Aang laughed nervously.

"Oh Katara, thank goodness. I was so—" At that moment, Aang had turned Katara around to face him. But her face was gone. Aang screamed. He screamed, he yelled, he cursed at the top of his lungs. He completely lost control. A soft voice saying his name snapped him out of his rage. He turned his tear stained face to Avatar Roku.

"Roku," Aang said, panic definitely pronounced in his voice, "Koh has Katara's face! We have to do something; anything!"

Roku shook his head. "Aang, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do. Once Koh gets a face, he won't give it back."

Tears streamed down the Avatar's face as he fought the sob that threatened to escape him. "B-but Katara, I can't leave her like this!" Aang stood up and began to pace the ground, thinking. "There has to be _something_ I can do!"

"The only way to get a face back," Roku began, "is to slay the creature."

"So to get Katara back," Aang said carefully, "I have to... kill Koh?"

Roku nodded. "But it's a difficult task. As we know, we have tried to kill him many years ago to save a loved one, but we have failed."

"But the Avatar State... the other Avatars!" Aang said, starting to get excited. "You can help!"

"I don't know if I can be of any help," Roku started, "but I'll see what I can do. Now I want you to stay right here. Do not leave the cave. Not when Koh still has her face." He motioned towards Katara, who still lay on the ground, lifeless.

"But what if Koh comes back?" Aang asked as he sat back down next to Katara.

"Show no fear." Roku said. "Show no emotion at all." With that, he was gone.

* * *

All Aang could do was just sit there and wait. "Don't worry, Katara," he whimpered as he moved her into his lap. "You're gonna be alright. I'm gonna get your face back." Katara just lay on Aang's lap, unresponsive. A single tear had fallen from his eye and it landed on the blank skin that was once Katara's face.

"Avatar Aang, we meet again," a chilling voice not too far away spoke softly.

Aang knew that voice. Quickly hiding his tears and straightening up his face, he turned around. "Hello Koh."

Koh smiled at Katara's faceless body in Aang's lap. "Ah yes. The young Waterbender; she had such a pretty face." Koh blinked, and Aang was looking into Katara's deep blue eyes. Aang had to fight the rage and sadness that had been building up inside of him. "Did you love her, Avatar Aang?" He mocked, faking a look of pity that did not look good on Katara's face.

"Give her her face back." Aang said, still with no emotion.

"Or what…?" He said, blinking once more. The face of an old man now appeared.

Aang didn't have an answer for that. He was just hoping that Avatar Roku would return soon, hopefully with a plan. Koh smiled when Aang didn't say anything after a minute. "I didn't think so."

_"Come on Roku,"_ Aang thought. _"Where are you?"_

"So," Koh continued, "This is the second time I have taken away a face of a loved one, isn't it?" Koh blinked once more and Ummi's face appeared. Aang said nothing. "So, are you gonna try to kill me again?" Koh laughed. Aang took a deep breath, trying and nearly failing to keep his face blank. "That's it Avatar... show me your hatred. Show me your rage..."

Koh did not know that a war was going on in Aang's head. _"I won't give in. If I loose my face, all hope will be lost, and I'll never be able to save Katara... No! No, don't think about that. Don't get upset. Keep your face free of emotion. Think about nothing."_ Every time Aang tried to empty his body of all emotion, he'd see Katara, lying there, faceless. Aang turned his back on Koh and frowned at Katara's body.

Suddenly, a strange feeling was taking over Aang's body. It was a familiar feeling, but there was something different... He was going into the Avatar State, but he found that he had full control over himself. In the very back of his mind, he could hear the hundreds of past Avatars telling him that Aang was to slaughter the beast that was Koh so the Spirits could finally live in total peace without worry; just how things were supposed to be.

With his tattoos and eyes glowing, Aang, not abandoning the look of rage and pain on his face, turned to Koh, who smiled at the Avatar: He had finally cracked and showed the deepest look of loathing in his face; a very powerful emotion. Koh lunged at Aang, attempting to take his face. Aang, completely prepared, easily avoided his attack and shot some air at him.

The smile on the old spirit's face vanished. "Oh. So this is how you're gonna play?" He blinked, and Ummi's face disappeared, and the original white face, red-lipped mask appeared, and he lunged at Aang once again, trying to take his face. But he had the power of hundreds of Avatar's; it was nearly impossible to beat him.

Using the Firebending of Avatar Roku, he was able to shoot a few strong fireballs at Koh, who yelled in pain as he caught fire. Aang smiled at Koh's pain and suffering. He knew that pain and suffering was nothing to smile about, but he couldn't help but grin.

Showing no mercy, he didn't give Koh a chance to recover from being burned when Aang attacked next. As far as he knew, Koh being hurt was a fantastic opportunity to catch him off guard. With the combined power of both himself and Avatar Yangchen, he used a powerful Airbending move to throw Koh across the cave. The old spirit yelled again as he hit the wall. The fire has gone out by now, but parts of Koh's body was still smoking. He looked beyond angry as he kept on trying to steal Aang face, even though he knew that it was no use. Aang almost laughed. Seriously, was that _all_ he had?

Finally, it was Avatar Kyoshi's turn. Using her Earthbending, he raised two earth pillars on either side of the very weak face-stealer and slowly moved them together, crushing the life out of Koh. With one last move, burying Koh in a sea of boulders, and one last shriek from the old spirit, Koh was gone. Then, something amazingly surreal happened: from where Koh was buried, a bright light appeared, and hundreds of bright objects flew out of the mound of rocks; the faces of Koh's victims flying out of the cave, searching for their bodies. Aang smiled once more as the other Avatars smiled with him as they left his body. Aang's tattoos turned back to their blue color, and his eyes turning back to grey.

Aang lost consciousness for a few seconds before he woke up feeling slightly dizzy; an after affect of the Avatar State that only lasts a minute or so. However, when he heard a soft moan coming from the cave wall, he wasted no time and dashed over to the figure that was up against the wall.

"Katara," he said, sitting down next to her. She looked up at the Avatar, who was relieved to see her beautiful face back; the young Waterbender frowned. "Katara…?" And without warning, she burst into tears and threw her arms around Aang. Aang put his arms around her back, while whispering soothingly into her ear. "It's okay, Katara. It's okay. It's over. Koh's gone."

Katara looked up at him with her big blue eyes, tears still streaming down her face. She sniffled a bit and tried to smile at him, but all she managed was a small grin. Aang smiled back at her and pushed some of her hair out of her wet face, then wiped her cheeks dry with his thumb. His smile vanished as a tear fell from his eye.

"You have no idea how scared I was," he said softly, looking into Katara's eyes. "When I saw that Koh had taken your face, I could feel my heart break..."

He paused for a moment as he put his hand back on her cheek and rubbed it lightly. "I don't know what I would've done if I couldn't get your face back." Aang still hasn't broken eye contact with Katara. "Your beautiful face; it would be tragic if..."

Aang finally broke his gaze with Katara, trying to hide his face from hers as he felt more tears gather in his eyes. He removed his hand from her cheek as he fought back tears. He was surprised when Katara took both of his hands into hers.

"Aang... I-I... you... you really mean that...?" Katara asked him, looking deep into his eyes.

"Did I mean that I was scared when Koh took your face?" Aang said, sounding a little shocked that Katara was asking him if he cared. "Of course I meant it!"

Katara smiled and shook her head. "No, no. Not that." She laughed a little and Aang felt his heart soar. "I mean about... you really think I'm... beautiful?" she asked as she blushed a bit at how childish that sounded.

"Of course you are!" Aang said. "I mean, come on! I lo—" Aang broke off, looking horrified about him almost spilling his secret.

"You… you what…?" Katara gaped at Aang. "Were you just about to say that you love me...?"

"Uh... I... eh..." Aang didn't know what to say. He could either lie to her and possibly break her heart, or tell her the truth and maybe get rejected, so he just contented himself in making indistinguishable sounds; but Katara didn't need to hear him say it. She smiled at him as she leaned her face in towards him. Aang broke off of his babbling, and was surprised. Katara was seriously gonna kiss him? She _actually_ likes him back? Aang didn't think for another moment as he too leaned in. Their lips were less than an inch apart when Aang heard his name at the mouth of the cave.

"Avatar Aang," Aang turned away from Katara, looking furious. His expression softened when he saw Avatar Kuruk, with Ummi gripping his arm. Aang turned to Katara, giving her an apologetic look before standing up, then helping her up; they both walked over to Kuruk and Ummi. Both couples were smiling.

"Aang..." Kuruk started again. "I would just like to thank you for getting my Ummi's face back to her. Many of us here in the Spirit World owe you much." He bowed to the young Airbender. "Now I can finally start my life together with my Water Tribe girl, and you can live your life with _your_ Water Tribe girl." He and Ummi smiled at the two before they turned and walked away. Aang and Katara watched the two, until they disappeared in the distance.

"Well," Aang started somewhat dully, still upset that Kuruk had interrupted his and Katara's kiss, "we should probably find a way outta here so we can get back to the Physical World..." He began to walk out of the dark cave.

"Aang," Katara said. She hadn't moved from the spot. Aang looked at Katara questionably. She motioned for him to come to her. They stood less than a foot away from each other. Katara moved forward, closing the gap, and leaned in once again to kiss Aang. This time, there were no interruptions from any past Avatars, no interruptions at all. The two finally shared their first kiss in the Spirit World.

After what may have been several days, though Aang knew it was no longer than a few seconds, they finally broke apart. Aang and Katara smiled at each other as Aang offered his hand to Katara, who grabbed it. Then the two finally walked away from the cave where Koh had just so recently lived.

"So..." Katara said. "How are we gonna get outta here?"

Aang thought for a second before spotting a black and white figure in the distance. "Hei-Bai!" Aang shouted. The spirit turned and bounded over to him. Katara nervously walked back a few steps. "Don't worry, Katara," Aang assured her. "Hei-Bai's alright!" This comment caused a giant tongue to lick him. Aang laughed. "Okay, okay. Stop it! Listen..." The great bear listened. "Can you get me and Katara back to our world?" The panda bear nodded. The two went onto his back as Hei-Bai started to run towards the exit. Taken by surprise, Katara screamed and grabbed onto Aang's back and held on as tight as she could in fear of falling. Aang smiled.

After less than a minute, they were back at the entrance to the Spirit World. Katara and Aang got off the spirit and he sent them back to their world.

* * *

It's long, I know. Well… no. Only six pages on Microsoft Word if you consider that long… Anyway, I'm aware that Aang can most likely _not_ bend in the Spirit World. Like I said in the last part, I know! Just trying to avoid the people who don't read that are like: "OMG! THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!" Yeah… anyway the third and last part will be up soon! 


	3. Chapter 3

Their spirits had finally gone back into their bodies as they woke with a start. Aang and Katara looked at each other for a moment, both thinking the same thing:  
They wondered whether or not Sokka and Toph knew that they were gone. They also wondered what their reactions would be when they tell them about what had happened... _if_ they tell them.

"Do you think we should tell them about…us?" Katara asked, knowing that Aang was thinking the same thing.

Aang hesitated before he spoke "Uh... I... I'm not... sure..."

"Let's just see how things go." Katara said with a smile as she stood up, and reached her hand down to help Aang up. He grabbed her hand and pulled himself up next to her, not letting go of her hand. Katara smiled at him. "Well, let's go and see if Toph and Sokka were having so much fun that they didn't even notice the few hours we were gone!" Sarcasm was obviously present in this statement. Aang laughed as she started to guide him out the door.

"Katara, wait," he said quickly just as Katara reached for the doorknob. The Waterbender turned towards Aang.

"What's wrong?" She asked him.

"Well, what about us...?" Aang asked innocently.

"What _about_ us?"

The young Avatar frowned. "Well... you know... _us_. Our feelings towards each other... what are we gonna do about our feelings now?"

Katara was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... when we're around Sokka and Toph... are we gonna, you know, tell them about us?" Aang asked unsurely. "Because I don't know what Sokka will say, and I don't wanna die! Not before I fight the Fire Lord!" he said, half joking.

Katara laughed. "We will tell them about us, and come on. Sokka's not gonna kill you!"

"And speaking of the Fire Lord," Aang started, barley hearing what Katara had just said, "what'll happen when it comes time to fight him?"

"What do you mean?" Katara asked again.

Aang sighed. A single tear ran down his face. He was never going to admit this to anyone, but he couldn't help but trust Katara. It's not like he was afraid she'd laugh, or think he was a coward or anything. He just didn't want to make her worry, but whom was he kidding? He was only worrying himself. As he was lost deep in thought, he wandered over to the old chair that sat in the room and slumped down in it, putting his face in his palms.

"Aang," Katara walked over to where the Avatar sat and knelt down in front of him. Her voice was very soft, but Aang could detect worry and concern in her voice. "Tell me. Please."

After a few seconds of silence, Aang finally spoke. "Katara, I'm scared." He looked up into her eyes, which started to water just like Aang's. Though it was heartbreaking to see her so sad, he went on. "What if I..." He couldn't bring himself to say the word 'die', so he finished "...don't make it..."

Katara frowned. In all honesty, she too has been thinking about that a lot lately. She would, of course, be devastated if he was killed. After what had happened in Ba Sing Se, she has been even more worried about the young Airbender. Finally, she took Aang's hand into hers, and said, "I know you're scared, and I don't blame you at all, but you've been training for many months for this." She let go of Aang's hands, put one hand on each of his shoulders, and looked right into his eyes. "You're ready, Aang. The world is ready for this war to end. Just know that I have complete faith in you. I know that you will defeat Ozai and get us out of this war alive."

Aang opened his mouth to talk, but no sound came out. For almost a full minute, Aang just sat there, looking for his voice, not breaking eye contact with Katara, whose hands still sat on his shoulders. Finally, Aang seemed to have re-gained the ability to speak. "You have no idea how much that means to me. That's what I needed to hear... and you're the one I wanted to hear it from."

Katara was touched. She wanted to say how much that meant to her, or how that made her feel, but she found that she was, like Aang was moments before, speechless. However, Aang got the message as he continued to stare into her stunningly blue eyes. He grabbed her hands and got back to his feet, taking Katara up with him. Aang gave Katara a kiss on the cheek, and Katara pulled Aang into a hug.

After a minute, they broke apart. "Come on." Katara whispered as she held Aang's hand. "Let's go."

As the two walked back into the living room, they saw Sokka and Toph sitting on the floor, facing each other, each holding some playing cards.

"Got any threes?" Sokka asked as he looked at his cards.

Toph had an evil glare in her sightless eyes. "Look, for the _hundredth_ time, _I don't know_ Sokka!" she cried, throwing down her cards as she got to her feet and walked away.

"Aw man!" Sokka whined more to himself than anybody else as he picked up her cards. "She _did_ have a three!" He mumbled to himself as he picked up the rest of the deck and put them on a side table.

He then stood up and noticed the Avatar and his sister staring at him, trying not to laugh. "Hey guys. Whatcha been up to?" Sokka asked, ignoring their smirks. "You've been gone for hours. What were you two doing?" He glared at them suspiciously.

Aang sighed. "It's a _very_ long story, Sokka. I don't think you wanna hear it..."

"Aang, I've been dying of boredom _all_ day. There's _nothing_ to do here in the house! A long story, possibly one with a little excitement, is what I need!" He led Katara and Aang over to the couch. From the kitchen, Toph walked into the room and sat on the couch, munching on an apple.

"Okay," Katara sighed. "Here's how it goes..." She started the story when she went into Aang's room to see how he was doing, and ended up in the Spirit World.

Aang then told Toph and Sokka how they were wandering around, looking for a way out, and stopped to rest, and he fell asleep.

Then Katara took over. A tear fell from her eye as the young Waterbender told them of how out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother. She glanced over at her brother who was avoiding her eyes. Their mother had always been a sensitive subject with Katara. Taking a deep breath, Katara continued. She said how her mother had run into the cave they were resting near and how Katara had chased after her. Sokka shook his head at this, knowing that the next part wouldn't be good. She said how she called out for her mother, but someone else answered. It was Koh.

"Who's Koh?" Toph asked her.

"It's a spirit; a horrible monster." Aang answered. "If you show any emotion in front of him, he'd steal your face."

Toph had a terrified look on her face. She didn't know exactly what a face looked like, but she knew that it would be a horrible sight... to see someone, a loved one, without a face. Toph involuntarily shuddered as Katara continued the story. She told them how Koh told her that he used a hallucination of her mother to lure her inside. Toph gasped. Then Katara continued, saying that she took one look at the age-old spirit and screamed... Then everything went black.

Aang now took over, telling them how he had awoken to find Katara missing and he knew where she was, so he walked into the cave looking for her, and when he finally found her, her face was gone. Sokka freaked out at this.

"Well, what happened?" he yelled. "Did you get her face back?!"

Katara gave an exasperated sigh. "No, Sokka. He didn't. What you're seeing, my eyes, nose, and mouth, they're only _painted_ on..." The Waterbender rolled her eyes at her brother's stupidity. Sokka scowled.

Once Aang was sure the siblings have stopped their argument, he continued. He said how Roku had come in, and then left for help. Then, a few minutes later, he had gone into a completely controllable Avatar State and killed Koh, and all of his victims had gotten their faces back, and they found the Hei-Bai spirit and left.

The story was told in about ten minutes, since they left out only the teeniest details. Aang left out the part with Avatar Kuruk and Ummi. He didn't think it would be anything Sokka or Toph would be too interested in. He also purposely left out the kiss he and Katara shared. Sokka didn't need to know about it.

The Airbender got up to get ready for bed when Katara stood up and grabbed his arm, keeping him from walking away. "Aang, why didn't you tell Sokka and Toph about how we…?"

"Shh!" Aang hissed, looking over at the two to make sure they weren't going to be overheard. Toph was now standing up, heading back towards the kitchen to throw away the core of the apple she had been eating, Sokka following right behind her for a before-bed snack.

Once the two had disappeared into the other room, Aang spoke in a very quiet voice. "I told you back in my room Katara; I really don't think this is a good time to tell Sokka about this. I don't wanna be half-beaten when I go and duel the Fire Lord!"

Katara laughed as she pulled herself and Aang back onto the couch they had just stood up from. "Sokka _won't_ kill you, Aang. I'll be sure of that." She kissed him softly on the cheek.

"Yeah, but we're sharing a room. He can kill me in my sleep!" Aang didn't believe Sokka would actually kill him. He was now just saying things to make Katara smile. He loved it when she smiled.

"I'll tell ya what," she whispered into the Avatar's ear, "we'll see if I can't convince Sokka to make a change in roommates. That way, I can keep a close watch on you." She smiled, highly doubting that Sokka would allow that.

As though reading her mind, Aang added, "You _really_ don't think Sokka would allow that, do you?"

Katara shook her head. "Doubt it, though it can't—" She was forced to stop speaking when she saw someone enter the room, though it was just Toph. She just gave the pair a half curious, half suspicious look before saying goodnight, and going into the room she shared with Katara. "As I was saying," Katara continued, "it can't kill to ask Sokka if we could share a room."

Aang shook his head; he thought she was wrong. If Aang were to ask 'big brother Sokka' if he could share a room with his little sister, he _would_ kill him. Though Aang kept his mouth shut about this thought, since it was unlikely that Sokka would really do that. But it's better to be safe than dead!

A couple minutes later, Sokka walked out of the kitchen with some fruits Katara had gotten at the market a few days before. Momo sat happily on Sokka's shoulder, eating a peach.

"Sokka, can we talk to you?" Katara asked him, ignoring the 'don't do it' look Aang was giving her out of Sokka's line of vision.

Sokka didn't answer immediately, since his mouth was filled with half of an orange. After swallowing, and choking a bit, he spoke. "Sure. If it's about the food, don't worry. We still have plenty—"

His sister cut him off. "It's not that, Sokka. It's about... something else... something that had happened a few hours ago... after Aang had saved me from Koh."

Sokka thought that this must be something important, judging by the look the two had on their faces, so he went into the chair that was sitting next to the couch where Aang and Katara were still sitting. He motioned for her to go on.

"Well, after that, Aang and I... we kinda..." Sokka continued to look at them curiously, but when he saw the blush on his little sister's face, he knew what this was about.

"After all this time of traveling together, and after all the times I caught you two staring at each other and flirting, you two have _finally_ admitted your feelings to each other?" he asked with a smile.

Katara and Aang were stunned. They were expecting anything, everything but this. How could Sokka be so cool about all this? "Yeah," Aang said, "how-"

"Oh, come _on_!" A voice from the corner called out. The three looked over and saw Toph leaning against the wall with her arms folded.

"I'm blind, and even _I_ can see that you two have something for each other! It's about time you two got together! Which reminds me," she turned to Sokka, "I'll take the two silver pieces that you owe me!" Sokka growled as he handed the silver to Toph. "Thank you!" she said brightly as she walked back into her room.

"So... you're okay with this?" Aang asked.

Before Sokka could answer that, however, Katara spoke. "Did you and Toph bet on when we'd get together?"

With the tiniest hint of a blush, Sokka nodded. "I didn't think you'd ever tell each other how you feel, and Toph said that even though Aang is a big wuss," Aang gave Sokka a dirty look, "he would eventually tell you." He nodded at his sister, who rolled her eyes.

"And to answer your question, Aang," Sokka went on, "of course I'm okay with it... just a couple things: I don't want to _ever_ walk in on you two making out, or doing... other things, don't act all lovey-dovey around me, and..." he was now speaking directly to Aang. "If you _ever_ do _anything_ to hurt my sister, I will kill you in your sleep." Aang gave an apprehensive nod, and backed away a little bit. Katara laughed.

"Hey, Sokka," Katara asked, throwing caution to the wind, "do you think it'll be alright if, you know, maybe Aang and I could share a room, and you can be with Toph?"

Instead of answering her, Sokka just laughed. Aang and Katara correctly took that as a no. "Nice try," Sokka said. "Goodnight Katara," he added, still laughing. After a quick goodnight from Aang, Katara walked back into the room she shared with Toph, while Sokka was dragging off Aang to their room.

For the next few hours, Aang lay awake, listening to the not-so-soft snoring of his roommate as he thought about the events that had happened only a few hours ago: The horror he felt when he saw his faceless crush, the satisfaction of having killed Koh, then that one kiss he and Katara shared. With Sokka around, however, Aang didn't think there would be a lot more kissing, but Aang didn't mind. The two still had the rest of their lives ahead- since Aang didn't even _think_ about losing to the Fire Lord- there will be plenty of time for that! They would be together for all eternity; just like Ummi and Kuruk.

_The End

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Okay. Those who may have read this on Kataang Forever would remember it differently: An even cheesier ending! XD Um, yeah… anyway, I made it less cheesy so… there ya go! Again, I'd like to thank daydream11 for editing this and pointing out some of the mistakes and stuff like that! -Hugs- Anyway, lemme know what you think (without flaming!)


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